They have email and a phone. Rumors on forums start because people are asking question on forums instead of sending them to the people with the actual answer. Forums can be a great help, but Axiom cannot be held responsible for not answering questions they were not asked.

I agree with you in for the most part, however, the company should put something out for the masses. why would i want everyone to have to call me for information; why would they not address everyone at once by putting something out on the web themselves about this? I just don't think it should be asked that all customers call to find out this information. if i was an axiom operator, i would be tired if everyone kept calling about the same thing, that's why you put out an official notice so that everyone can have the same information at the same time. of course this will never stop phone calls, nor should it but it would help. we all just want to know something and like i said, only the company can answer that. isn't that part of what this forum is for? i'm surprised Axiom isn't utilizing it's own forum to that end.

Its ok Solarrdadd, right now you're just suffering from a mild case of 'Axiomownersclubitis', your symptoms are perfectly normal. But don't worry, once you become an Axiom owner, and are privy to deals and details like this, you will appreciate having access to things that non-owners don't.

Axiom hasn't made a public statement to the masses yet for one reason alone, they aren't ready to meet demand for the product yet. My guess is (and this is only a guess), that they received more preorders through the owners club than they may have anticipated. It must be nearly ready to come to market, or Steve wouldn't be enjoying his (when he gets time to) already.

Bottom line is, since they don't have anything official up on the site yet, there are less people who may be disapponted if there are any delays. Damage control. The members of the owners club are likely to be more patient and understanding of any hold-ups that may arise. So if they are the only one's who are actually 'expecting' the product and Axiom can't deliver promptly, then at least there aren't scores and scores of disappointed patrons out there, many of whom might cross Axiom off their list altogether if they thought right out of the gate that Axiom was a company that didn't have their shit together. So we'll wait and see when they make an official announcement. Once they have, my guess is they'll have their ducks in a row and be ready to make the masses happy.

That being said, Axiom is not an enormous company. They do have their fair share of growing pains. The EP800 is a good example. My personal opinion is that it may have been rushed to market a bit too quickly, using what was basically the EP600 amp modified to run two woofers instead of one. The new amp is much better suited to that task, and makes it an entirely different, and definately better subwoofer than the first incarnation of the EP800 (I've experienced both). So IMO opinion they stumbled out of the gate with that product, and are probably trying hard not to duplicate that experience for their customers.

However I must say, whatever problems we might have had with the original EP800's, we could not have asked for a better response from a company than what we got from Axiom. They went far above and beyond what I ever would have dreamed they would do to make sure we were satisfied with our product. Trust me when I say, if you chose to go with Axiom, you are chosing a company that is as dedicated to their customers as there has ever been on the face of this earth!

Axiom cannot be held responsible for not answering questions they were not asked.

Perfectly said!

This statement is ridiculous. So according to you it isn't the responsibility of the company to let its customers know what is going on. It is up to the customer to call and ask. I wouldn't be a customer very long if I was blown off that easily. Not to mention they would be the first people to know if there was going to be a delay and prepare for the issue. In other words notifying people that it would affect. Now having said that my dealings with axiom over the years has been, for most part, excellent. I really enjoy my speakers and the forum has been a great source of help and information, but if there is an obvious delay they have definitely dropped the ball on this one. I was one of the pre-orders and I was expecting to see my shipping notice. I have already moved my vp150 into another room. So not getting a notification or at least an email explaining the issue is not acceptable in my opinion.

You are confusing two issues: communication with people that have already ordered and (your issue)and request for information about a product that Axiom has choosen not to broadcast its existence as of yet (the OP issue).

YES, an email to those waiting for an ordered product would have been the right thing to do(are we missing Amie or what!). Reading posts properly is also a good thing to do...

Wow, Axiom must make great products for so many to be this passionate about getting their hands on a new center channel! It's all Steve's fault; shame on you for sharing all the great news about the vp180. I'm sure it's coming guys, relax a bit. How do you think a newbie to Axiom will read into some of these discussions?

AND YES!!! I am excited to get my hands on the new center! Getting time to play with it will be difficult since I have a son who will be turning 2 next month takes a nap at 11 to 1 everyday. Can't wait to see the difference. On the other hand I was surprised how well just using the 60's without a center works.

Forums can be a great help, but Axiom cannot be held responsible for not answering questions they were not asked.

They are being held responsible in the court of public opinion regardless of what logic might dictate. That was the reason I had suggested using the “Notify” button to alert Axiom to issues they might want to know about like the EP500 amp pictures. In the nature of internet forums once a meme gets started it can go wild. Just look at the numerous bogus opinions many people have about Axiom speakers spread because small numbers of people started saying something that just keeps getting repeated by others. I can’t count how many times I’ve read - "I don’t own Axioms but they say Axioms are bright,” “M80s are hard to drive,” etc. . . .

All it takes is one passionate person to start posting negative comments in certain internet forums and pretty soon it’s the new truth getting endlessly repeated by people who want others to think they are experts. Since Axiom doesn’t have a heavy presence in other forums there are few people out there to quell rumors once started. While it certainly won’t put Axiom out of business it cant’ help but have a negative impact.

Originally Posted By: Solarrdadd

i would be tired if everyone kept calling about the same thing, that's why you put out an official notice so that everyone can have the same information at the same time. of course this will never stop phone calls, nor should it but it would help. we all just want to know something and like i said, only the company can answer that. isn't that part of what this forum is for? i'm surprised Axiom isn't utilizing it's own forum to that end.

Axiom unlike most other ID companies is very “hands off” with it’s forum. I have never seen it moderated unless by request from an OP, they virtually never discuss pre-release products (usually only to have a naming contest) and except for the “Hearing Things” subforum seldom use it as a marketing tool.

As pointed out by others this initial preorder was only directed at existing Axiom owners. The first time I’ve noticed this being done. This is relatively new territory for Axiom so it doesn’t hurt for others to “throw them a bone” too. OTOH I said what I did about them making an announcement because a situation reaches a point where they do need to take control of the information flow or possibly suffer negative “press” especially due to comparisons with other companies, one in particular, which have given preorders a bad name.

1. The VP180 has not yet been publicly announced, nor (AFAIK) is there any expectation of doing so until the end of June.

2. Existing owners were sent private emails giving them a heads-up about the new product, and offered a chance to pre-order with shipments starting May 31.

3. Some of us pre-ordered (I did).

4. In our enthusiasm, a bunch of us blabbed about the private owners-club email and its content on the public forums. It's probably fair to say that this was not part of Axiom's plans.

5. Rather than starting to ship on May 31 as originally planned, it now appears that shipments will start a week or so later. Personally, I see this as a non-issue - I wasn't told that *my* order would ship on May 31 anyways (my expectation was that it would ship some time between May 31 and the end of June), so I don't see any reason why this should be considered any kind of problem. Opinions may vary on this.

Bottom line here is that if there is a public aspect to the timing of initial VP180 shipments it is (IMO) our own damn fault for blabbing on a public forum about the advance information we were given in a private email. I'm as guilty of that as anyone, of course

While I agree that this gives them a loophole, it's not like it's anything new for the Owner's Club info to be posted on the forum. It's not the first time. Personally, I'm not upset or disappointed by the slight delay, but that's probably just because I didn't pre-order. I know when I order stuff the waiting game kills me, and that's why I never bother with the Factory Outlet. I suppose I should consider myself lucky that my system is in Boston Cherry now that the lighter stock finishes have a 10 day lead time.